A tale of Ark Bosses
by Changeling Man
Summary: The Ark is a mysterious place, people from other lands and ages all finding themselves at the beaches of the island shores. Athena however is different, driven by curiosity, she is the infamous dragon boss. As well as her two other companions they will discover treachery afoot, or be discovered themselves.
1. Chapter 1

Well I have been going around the ARK fanfic and I noticed a general similarity between them, they all started the same and had the same general theme so an idea came to mind and I decided to write it so here it is.

Hope you enjoy and please Rate and Review. This is my first fanfic so please be kind.

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Chapter 1

Athena's gaze looked beyond the sky, the entire island seemed quiet for a moment. The sounds of the working tribes people faded to the distant hills, and the ARK was at peace.

She could almost hear the distant flow of lava from her mountain, the heat from molten stone and hot winds upon her. The cries of her servants trying to edge her awake, their screeches going unnoticed to the slumbering titan.

The base of reality formed and shivered as the small fishing village under the green hills came back to her. The sound of working men and women, and playing children. The Parasaurs, raptors and other tamed dinosaurs moving amongst the small crowds of working people.

The weight of the buckets on either side of her began to come back to her, Athena's fragile sense of reality crashed like waves on the sand.

Letting out a low sigh she threw her buckets over her shoulder and made her way past the crowding people and to the market. Athena had come to the trading village to get fish meat for the celebration, and thankfully she knew who to go to.

Athena made a conscious effort to avoid any and all the dinosaurs on the streets. Her excuse being that they made her nervous.

But in reality it was the other way around.

No one so far had noticed the occasional Dilo or passing Stego hastily move out of her way when they realized who and what she was.

Taking her usual route, Athena arrived at the fish stand where the fishermen was waiting for her.

"Mourning" she greeted placing her bucket down for Jacub fill.

"The usual then?" he asked, already making his way to his stash.

Athena counted the coin in her purse, then paused. "Throw in a Sabertooth salmon for me, will ya?" she said, handing him the extra coin.

Jacub placed a dozen small to medium sized Coelacanth in one bucket then went over and pulled out a large salmon, it's jaw was gaping wide and eyes still. "Planning something special?" he asked, placing the fish in the empty bucket and scooping the coin.

"Nah, just thought to get Joe something extra, he wants the newbie to feel welcome today," she replied picking up the now considerably heavy buckets.

"Well thats Joe for you." Jacub remarked.

"Did you hear about the _Terror Bird tribe_?" he asked. Athena didn't pause as she accommodated the buckets at a distributed wait between her shoulders.

"Heard they are getting some of the artifacts to fight one of the Bosses," she replied casually. However her mind sprang with curiosity, **are they planning to fight one? If so which one? Or are they just going to keep them for show? A lot of work just to have flashy decoration.**

"Well yes, but no that wasn't what I referring to. Apparently they have gotten hold of the Cunning Artifact but they also were handed the Skylord Artifact."

Athena paused, her mind taking in account the pattern presented, "they were given an artifact? By who?" she looked back at the fisherman.

Jacub scratched his beard, thinking "well if I recall, I think Marrok said that the _Vulture tribe_ were the ones to give it to them, something about an old deal or a debt."

"Uh, wonder why I wasn't informed sooner?" **surely Brian would have mentioned it if he knew.**

Jacub gave a dismissive shrug "you know how news travels on the island, since the _Pteranodon tribe_ disappeared there really hasn't been anyone to take over the postal service."

Athena nodded and bade her farewell, on her way back to the others her thoughts moved to the information now shedded to light. It would be almost a half year since anyone has tried to collect the artifacts for the purpose of summoning the bosses. **Why now? What does the** _ **Terror Bird tribe**_ **want to prove with this little charade? Surely they don't actually intend to go after a boss would they. They will be too underprepared, they can barely fight off a Rex let alone one of the strongest creatures known to the island.**

It was an interesting turn and Athena would make sure to drill Brian for more information when she got back.

On the hills just outside of the village the others were already waiting for her, thankfully none of them had brought their land dinosaurs. Rather they flew in on their Pteranodons, one of the only creatures not to flee from her on sight. Most likely because they were the ones to serve directly under her when the duels take place.

The group was positioned on the top of the hill that was right off the road that lead to the NE side of the island. Due to common courtesy and complaints from residents, no flyers were allowed inside the towns premises. So they would have to have someone to look after them while they were in town.

"All set?" Alvin asked, already getting the flyers ready.

Athena nodded "yep."

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 **Author's Note**

Well I hope you enjoyed, I do intend to continue this story and I will try and update as often as I can.

Again please rate and review.


	2. Chapter 2

_I am sorry that I haven't published chapter 2 in what feels like a year. Long story short Life happened and I have been working on the chapters on the side and Intended this one to be much longer but I decided to post this as chapter two. Again I am sorry for the delay as I am sure that many readers (myself included) are not interested in stories that only have like 3 chapters and have not been updated since 1987. I do intend on bringing new chapters and to keep this story going however the rate will be slower than I hoped._

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Chapter 2

The base was built at the ledge of a mountain, on top of the hill. With walls coiled around the base like a Titanoboa on dying prey and wooden spikes at their base, it would be enough to deter any predator from getting any ideas.

With trees littering the entire slope of the hill and the mountain behind them, wood and metal were of no shortage. The buildings were mostly made out of wood, with most having thatch roofs and stone floors.

And as they flew closer they could make out the numerous tribes people working for the celebration. With white, blue, green, and purple flowers placed on the roof of just about every building as well as the main gate.

The banners were hung high on the walls depicting the current five major tribes lined up in accordance to their respective animal. The _Quetzal tribe_ was hung to the far left, (from left to right) the _Tusso tribe_ , and the now missing Pteranodon tribe had a white vail hung over it as a symbol to their disappearance. The Gorilla, Rex, and Bronto banners hung on the other side wall as a symbol of good will and as a homage to the war.

Athena belonged to the _Quetzal tribe_ which was one of the five major power holders on the island. The tribe had been involved in a long a brutal tribal civil war that had lasted almost three years. From what Athena learned the war was initiated by the six major tribes, the _Gorilla tribe_ had claims on resources that belonged to the _Tusso tribe_ and demanded compensation. When the _Tusso tribe_ refused, the _Gorilla tribe_ declared war and the _Quetzal_ and _Pteranodon tribe_ who had been in a defensive pact with the _Tusso tribe_ and each other responded and declared war. The _Rex_ and _Bronto_ tribe had also had a defensive pact with the _Gorilla tribe_ and both went to their allies aid.

Several smaller tribes had also gotten involved and the war had claimed the lives of many on both sides. However it was a stalemate, neither side had been able to make progres on the opponent and the war dragged on.

Athena had played an indirect role in ending the conflict. Joe was the leader of the _Quetzal tribe_ even before the war, and began seeking a way to end the conflict as the stalemate continued.

All the tribes respected those that could slay one of the three legendary bosses. And Joe believed that if he could slay one then he could get the other tribes to end the fighting.

And so it was that he gathered his best fighters and strongest dinosaurs and summoned the strongest one to fight.

The dragon boss.

The fight had been hard and close, but Joe had been able to slay the creator with a well placed shot through the eye.

After the fight was over and he claimed a trophy sized head, he rallied the citizens of the island and demanded the war to end. The other tribes listeined and all gathered together and agreed to host meetings by all the tribes once every few months so as to avoid another scaled conflict.

It was only a few weeks after that, that Athena pulled her way through and found herself on the Island.

She still remembered the pain as the bullet tore through her eye and into her brain. She remembered the long agonizing hours of being put together then tossed back into the arena by the Overseer.

However that was in the past and Athena needed to focus on the present. The celebration was not only being hosted in honor of the war and those that fell on both side.

It was also to honor the new addition to the Quetzal tribe, a young man by the name Jason who had washed up on shore just a few days ago. It was actually Athena that found him and took him to a communal trading hub. Shortly after Joe offered to take the man in, Jason agreed and none other tribes objected.

Jason had arrived at the base only the other day, and was still taking everything in. From what Athena gathered, he had absolutely no recollection of his life before the island. This was common, but a few individuals could put fragments together or sometimes rarely retain their memory completely. This is how the people of the island were able to piece together that they weren't all from the same time. With some people describing cities with tall walls of stone, and others claiming to be able to communicate with small technological devices from great distances, and floating cities in the sky.

However despite the massive distance in time as well as people coming from different regions and cultures, there seemed to be no language barriers. The small diamond shaped devices on their wrists acted as translators, which seemed to be the only thing that they were good for. Removing the devices was often proven a fatal mistake.

As they landed on the Pteranodon platform, Athena grew to appreciate the decorations more, children ran through the streets spreading flowers and laughter. They were another uncommon occurrence on the island. Very few children were actually born, most were washed up on the island.

Athena couldn't help but smile at the effort and beauty put into the celebration.

 **Don't get attached, this is temporary. Eventually they will figure out that you are not one of them.** Her mind echoed and her smile dropped as she unloaded the fish from the Pteranodon, the other riders often had to keep the fish out of their flyers reach or else they would take a bite at the bounty.

But with Athena they barely moved without her acknowledgement, the other tribes men often remarked that she had a special talent with them. But the reality that the flying reptile's behavior was more out of fear than any 'special talent.' They knew what she was, the power she wielded, the devastation she could cause.

Yet Athena mande no notion of their behavior, walking down the streets without waiting the rest of the riders to unload their cargo.

Grass grew along the streets, the children played and the people prepared for the day.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Athena made her way past the busy grass fed streets, then taking the more narrow paths on the way to the main hall. Her decision was simple, dinosaurs don't like the small narrow and tighter spaces and she didn't like them. She took these types of routs as often as she could. If she went down a busy street filled with the creatures both big and small then people would definitely notice the anomaly, and while she doubted that they could guess the truth,there would be questions and whether she answered or not, it would raise suspicion. And raising suspicion would make people notice her, and that was exactly what she wanted to avoid. Her personal objective was to be an observer, to watch and learn why the hairless monkeys with pointy sticks sought to challenge her in the arena. Athena had hoped to find out quickly, but after six months on the island she realized that they were much more complicated than she had previously anticipated. And she was nowhere near finding out the answer, every answer gave way to three more questions.

Despite her initial intentions after living among them, she had grown to respect some members of the tribe. Particularly Joe who for all intents and purposes she should hate, but the fact that he was able to defeat her in combat caused her to be more impressed than anything else. If there was one thing a great predator respects is strength and endurance, both qualities the man had.

Athena saw the building from the usual angle when she took the path. Between the two wooden walls of the buildings between her, she saw the flag of the Quetzal tribe flying high and mighty. Red and purple banners stood tall on the sloped roof. The building was made from a stone foundation and red wood walls and strong roof. It stood in the center of the base, a clearing made around it.

Entering through it's modest doors she past the usual guards posted at the front, a young man and an older gentlemen gave her respectful nods, likewise she gave nods back.

Making her way to the main room she saw Joe speaking to two others, a man and a woman adorned in pelts and leather with arrows and bows on their backs. Joe's second, Nira stood not far away looking down at a map. The room was large and had many desks and papers scattered across. It was the main archive of the tribe as well as the main headquarters.

Taking a moment to listen in she leaned on the wall opposite to them.

"I'm telling you something is not right, the forests smell weird and the animals are not behaving normally. They cry out in the middle of the night and game has become increasingly scarce in the jungle." The woman in brown hair said, Athena guessed that they were hunters.

"Not only that but that stench of rot, we looked everywhere but all we found was this." The man said, revealing a wet cloth covered in the yellow stains of Amarberries. The hunter undid the carefully knit top and opened the package.

Athena felt the stench before she smelled it. The odor hit her like a charging Triceratops, she saw Joe and the hunter visibly gag and even Nira covered her nose and looked up to see where the stench was coming from.

The item in question was small and from Athena's view she could make out scattered feathers and blood.

Joe signaled for them to put it away and the woman re tied the package. She then grabbed a handful of Amarberries and squashed them on the top of the package, then applied water.

After a moment the stench subsided.

Athena studied Joe after she recovered with her hand over her mouth to try and keep from throwing up. He looked more convinced than when she came in and after thinking about what to do, he said, "I will send out a detachment to investigate, see if there is anything we can find what is causing this." The hunters were visibly relieved.

"However we will wait until after the celebration, for now relax and enjoy. After it is over I will send out the detachment. Many of the men have been looking forward to this, we will address this afterwards."

The hunters looked like they were going to protest but at that moment Brian came in with Jason from the opposite end of the room.

Joe waved the hunters off the discussion was finished, and they begrudgingly left.

Brian spotted Athena where she stood and waved at her with a bright smile. Athena offered a polite nod as she usually did, remembering how Brian had not informed her about the _Terror Bird Tribe's_ intention to fight one of the bosses.

Athena made her way to Joe, Brian, Jason and Nira who left the map on the desk.

Joe gave Jason a welcoming smile "How was your tour of the base, I trust Brian was more than welcoming."

Jason gave him a polite nod "yes he was, but… are all the creature so... curious?" he lowered his voice at the question as if to not offend anything that wasn't actually there.

Brian clapped Jason's shoulder "You'll get used to them, everyone does. Well... almost everyone" he shot Athena an amused look, she couldn't help but roll her eyes.

Joe smiled "you're new here so they want to get to know you. Trust me it's better to have them recognize you as a member than not," he paused and looked out to the front door his eyes looking at nothing "you never know when you need their loyalty in a tuff situation" he muttered.

Athena knew that he was thinking of the arena and climax of their battle. How she moved to incinerate him with the burning fire in her gut and the blue green raptor launched him out of the way. Saving him while it's scales melted and burned to ash. She didn't know how long he had the creature but by the way he spoke of it, it held a special place in his heart.

Joe shook himself back to the present "besides their not that bad, start with the smaller herbivores then make your way to some of the bigger things."

Jason did not look all that convinced but Joe turned to Athena before he could say anything else.

"I trust the flyers behaved."

Athena nodded "Kyle and Jordan are onloading the fish and will be taking them to the chef's quarters."

Joe nodded, "Good, well be ready by tomorrow, the decorations are almost done and the last of the other tribe members are arriving."

He turned his attention to Jason and offered the young man a smile, "why don't you and Brian go help with the rest of the preparations while I finish organizing things with Nira."

Athena gave a slight bow, "I will finish with my duties." Together she, Brian and Jason exited.

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Joe watched them go, his overfondness with familiarity and close companionship had its limits. Brian was apart of the _Terror Bird Tribe_ and to that extent an ambassador and ally, Jason had only joined them recently and he wanted to make him comfortable. But Athena was a different situation entirely, normally servants and cleaners were not very familiarized with the higher levels of the tribe and much less listened to the on goings and troubles. But a part of him allowed her to familiarize herself with him, something that he no doubt she knew well. A feeling in his gut told him that there was more to her than meets the eye. **Perhaps she was a noble in her past life.**

Nira beckoned him back to the map and they discussed the details on the party that would investigate the disturbing reports.


End file.
